Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez adds a crossbar dunk for good measure after a second-half touchdown catch against the Saints. BILL FEIG, AP

Tony Gonzalez, one of finest athletes in Orange County history, reached a significant milestone Sunday.

Gonzalez became the first tight end in NFL history, and eighth player overall, with 100 touchdown receptions. The Huntington Beach High star caught 11 passes for 122 yards and two TDs for the Atlanta Falcons, giving him 101 scores in his career, sixth all-time in the league.

But it wasn't enough for the Falcons to extend their perfect season, as they were edged in New Orleans by Drew Brees and the Saints, 31-27, in the best game of Week 10.

Matt Ryan passed for a career-high 411 yards for the Falcons, but the two times he needed to find Gonzalez the most, they couldn't connect.

On fourth-and-goal at the Saints 2 with 1:46 left, Ryan tried to hit Roddy White over the middle for the go-ahead TD, but New Orleans' Jabari Greer swatted the ball away. Gonzalez was wide-open in the right corner of the end zone, but Ryan didn't find him.

Atlanta had one more chance in the final seconds, but fell to 8-1 when a fourth-down Ryan pass that would have been a first down slipped through Gonzalez's fingers. Ryan had Gonzalez open on the same route on third down, but instead sailed a long pass over the head of White.

Fox's Daryl "Moose" Johnston called it "a tight end day" as Gonzalez and New Orleans' Jimmy Graham (seven catches, 146 yards, two TDs) took turns dunking over the crossbar after scores.

But the Falcons' success passing against the Saints, No. 29 in NFL total defense, might have proved their undoing.

Atlanta could not – or, more accurately, would not - run the football against a New Orleans defense ranked No. 32 against the rush, netting just 46 yards on 18 carries against a team allowing an average of 176.5 yards on the ground.

Abandoning that weapon gave Brees more chances, and he made just enough plays to pass the Saints to a 4-5 record.

Champagne time: With the Falcons' loss, the champagne and Diet Coke were flowing wherever the 1972 Miami Dolphins reside. The last team to finish an NFL season unbeaten always rejoices when that distinction is safe for another year.

But there was little to celebrate about the current Dolphins, who were soundly defeated at home by the Jake Locker-inspired Tennessee Titans, 37-3.

Miami rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who hadn't thrown an interception since late September, was picked off three times by the Titans. Locker, in his return to the lineup from injury, threw two TD passes, Chris Johnson ran for 126 yards and a TD, and Titans owner Bud Adams likely likes his team again.

November swoon: The New York Giants lost badly at Cincinnati, and looked like a team desperate for bye, which they get this week.

Eli Manning has definitely lost his mojo, and so has the Giants vaunted front four, which came in with 25 sacks but had none against the Bengals, despite rookie center Trevor Robinson making his NFL starting debut for Cincinnati.

It's nothing new for the defending Super Bowl champions, who went 1-3 in November 2011, lost four in a row to drop to 6-6, but still turned out OK. Just ask the New England Patriots.

Alexander the great: San Diego didn't win at Tampa Bay, but the Chargers found a new deep-strike weapon for Philip Rivers. Wide receiver Danerio Alexander, released by St. Louis in the final preseason cut, caught five passes for 134 yards, including an 80-yard TD, in just his third active game as a Charger. Alexander was one of the few big-play threats on the Rams during the woeful Steve Spagnuolo era.

Denver's Tristan Holliday is another second-chance success story. The Houston Texans cut him, and the Denver Broncos picked him up four weeks ago. Holliday returned a punt 76 yards for a TD in Coach John Fox's big victory at Carolina, a week after Holliday set a Broncos record with a 105-yard kickoff-return TD.

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